Prominent progressives have a new humorous shorthand as they distance themselves from unpopular left-wing policies: “Woke 1 was crazy.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s comment sparked a debate as progressives face key elections across the country. Some viewed the congressmember, who is viewed as a potential presidential candidate, as shrewdly dismissing a Republican talking point. But others saw the lighthearted line as disingenuous and a betrayal of a movement pushing for racial and economic justice.
The chatter began when Ocasio-Cortez was asked on ABC “This Week” about Francesca Hong, a Wisconsin democratic socialist running for governor, who had previously suggested, “cancel Thanksgiving.” (Hong lost the Democratic primary on Tuesday in a surprise upset.)
“I have a local city councilman that has this saying: ‘Woke 1 was crazy,’” said Ocasio-Cortez, referring to Councilmember Chi Ossé.
“The doors were really open in trying to entertain any and every policy that was going to get us to a better place,” added Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of Queens and the Bronx. “Of course, rhetoric in that time is not rhetoric that we would use today.”
The meaning of the term “woke” complicated the discussion further. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said that for him, “woke” encompasses policies covering racial justice, fairer policing and investment in healthcare and housing.
He said he has never used the term “defund the police,” but maintained that activists were fighting to redirect police spending to communities as an alternative means of ensuring public safety.
“The problem is we’ve let people define it as something else, and that’s what’s harmful,” said Williams, whose collection of political buttons includes one that says “Stay woke.”
Some on the left bemoaned the use of the term “woke,” saying that it has been used to oversimplify progressive ideas. The word has served as an umbrella term for ideas ranging from defunding the police to diversity initiatives.
“Woke 1” refers to early in the pandemic, when the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020 inspired Black Lives Matter demonstrations around the world.
Asked about Ocasio-Cortez’s comments on Wednesday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani argued that while candidates should be held accountable for their past statements, they should also be allowed to evolve. As a candidate, Mamdani backed away from defunding the police.
Protesters in Brooklyn in August 2020.
Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images
“Sometimes what you believe can change, it can develop, it can grow,” Mamdani said on Wednesday when asked about Ocasio-Cortez’s comments. “And I know that there are some for whom they still believe in that. I’ve made very clear that I do not believe in defunding the police.”
Mamdani’s remarks are reminiscent of his progressive ally Brad Lander, who, during the campaign, called defunding the police “a failed political strategy.”
Two progressive city councilmembers criticized Ocasio-Cortez.
“You won’t find me repudiating the moral and effective policies that will keep us safer just because political popularity/winds shift back and forth,” Councilmember Tiffany Cabán, a democratic socialist, said on X.
Councilmember Sandy Nurse also defended the protest movement on social media, saying, “I support good messaging that resonates widely, and have advocated for this, but it’s a mistake to flatten the uprising to hysteria.”
Cabán and Nurse did not respond to interview requests.
Christina Greer, a political science professor at Fordham University, said there are risks for politicians who disavow ideas perceived as central to their identities.
“You just look like every other politician that flip-flops back and forth,” Greer said. “But if that’s how she fundamentally believes about that time period and the beginning of the movement, then I think that says who she is trying to be for a much larger, broader audience who may agree with her that it was just a ‘woke’ blip in time.”